Take Ten Minutes to Think

In my Professional Agile Leadership class last week, we were talking about how to help Scrum Teams improve their focus. One of the participants shared something that caught everyone’s attention.

He said he takes 30 minutes every day—just to think about his day.

We were all blown away.

Thirty minutes sounded like a luxury most of us don’t have. But the idea stuck with me. So I decided to try my own version: ten minutes.

I went out for a walk — no phone, no music, just me and my thoughts. And in those ten quiet minutes, I came up with ideas that would genuinely help me improve my work.

It reminded me of one of the Agile principles:

“At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.”

That principle doesn’t just apply to teams — it applies to people, too.

I’m not talking about agonizing over mistakes or replaying every bad decision. I’m talking about genuine reflection — taking a moment to think about your day with curiosity instead of criticism.

Ask yourself:

• How did it go today?

• What worked?

• What could I do differently tomorrow?

That’s it. Ten minutes of quiet time to inspect and adapt — the same kind of rhythm we use in Scrum.

What we do is complex. It requires creativity, collaboration, and courage. And creativity doesn’t thrive in chaos; it thrives in reflection. Taking even a few minutes each day to think helps us see the bigger picture — not just what we did, but why it mattered.

So after you close your laptop and head home for the day, take ten minutes. Go for a walk. Sit by a window. Think.

You might be surprised at what you discover.